Stacy Holtz

Stacy has been the Rally trainer for LOTC since May 2007.  Prior to that, she had been informally training friends to play Rally starting in 2005.  She views herself as a people trainer since the dogs tend to be illiterate when it comes to reading the signs.

She and her husband actively compete in agility with their Pembroke welsh corgis.
In addition, she shows both of them in rally, continues to work on obedience skills, and takes them for monthly therapy visits at an assisted living center. Both pups have earned their share of titles. Holly has her CD (obedience), RE (rally), AXP, OJP, and NFP (agility), as well as her TDI (therapy). As for Tucker, he has his RE (rally), OAP, OJP, and NFP (agility), and his TDI (therapy).

Stacy’s training philosophy is to be sure that both she and her dogs are having fun.  She sees no point in getting titles for her dogs unless they are enjoying what they are doing.  She brings this philosophy to the classes she teaches for LOTC ensuring that both dogs and handlers have a good time while they learn.

Ethel Mercer

Ethel has been teaching Puppy Class for Lomita Obedience Training club for more than 16 years.  In addition she teaches Intermediate Competition Obedience and Manners and Obedience.  The latter includes the use of clicker training.  This year she is introducing Dancing with Dogs to her class list as the sport of Canine Freestyle has been a passion of hers for a number of years.  Ethel is a certified Canine Good Citizen evaluator.

Ethel has bred and shown Miniature Pinschers and achieved three breed championships with them.  In addition she has shown the “Min Pins” and her border collie in Obedience and Agility as well as Canine Freestyle achieving advanced titles in each sport.  As if that weren’t enough, her dogs are also Delta Certified Therapy Dogs making hospital visits to cheer up the patients.

Continual learning is important to Ethel.  It keeps her and her dogs sharp.  She regularly attends seminars to keep up to date on ideas and techniques and belongs to the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, Inc.  She also shares her expertise by serving as a mentor for the Animal Behavior Collage Student Externship Program.  She wants to make learning fun for her students and believes:  “Make the training process rewarding for both the dog and owner by using positive training techniques, and try to never lose your sense of humor!”.  As a result of this philosophy, she has seen a number of students repeat her courses every time they get a new dog.

Ruth Nunn

Ruth has always been into training animals. She got her first horse when she was 12 years old and competed on a team, in gymkhanas and hazed steers for bulldoggers.  She formally trained her sheltie mix, Chip, for obedience when she was 14.

In 1965 she rescued a Samoyed and started training with Howard Cross at Southwest Obedience Club.  After earning her CD she apprenticed with Howard and helped him with his classes in Huntington Beach.  She also worked with Homer Wilson at Santa Ana Valley KC classes and conducted competition workshops for California Handler’s Advanced Obedience School, of which she was a charter member.  After taking some time off in the middle 70’s she started training advanced obedience classes for the Paw Shoppe pet shop in Long Beach and later joined San Pedro Obedience Training Club, now known as Lomita Training Club.  She has conducted competition workshops, open and utility classes and obedience ring handling classes for LOTC since 1988.

 She is very active in LOTC and the Southern California Dog Obedience Council, having served in almost every office in both organizations.  She has coached the LOTC Top Dog Team, which finished 5^th in 2007, since 1989.

She has trained and exhibited 4 Samoyeds to the UD title and another to the CDX title and 3 Sams to the UKC CDX title. In addition to obedience, she has trained and worked 2 of her dogs in herding and owned the first Samoyed to earn an AKC herding title.  She also trained and worked her dogs in weight pulling contests.  She home trained her Service Dog, Me Too, and completed her CDX after becoming confined to a wheelchair.  She is currently working with Tyana, a new Samoyed rescue, to take over Me Too’s service work as she is now 11 years old and slowing down a bit.

Her training philosophy is based on positive reinforcement with no corrections.  She believes in the strategy of fixing mistakes by showing the dog the right way with lots of praise and enthusiasm. She uses whatever turns the dog on, be it treats, toys or just plain old-fashioned love.  She is not afraid to try something new or to temper the “old” ways with non-confrontational methods. If you do not praise your dog enough she will do it for you.  She is proud of the fact that all the dogs in her classes will climb right up on her scooter to greet her every time they see her.

Ruth is retired and has 2 sons, 1 in Long Beach and another in Tennessee.  She has 2 granddaughters in Tennessee and will show you pictures any time you wish.